Ricks Bronco: 1and 1/2

[rookieshooter]

A little too much red I think around the dash. I want to keep it black and silver.



IMO that's better looking. The paint is still wet so that shine will go away.



Need to get back to the triangulated rear 4 link, now that the fun and games are over with the finishing of the no bling paint job.

The large bracket is the one that will go over the center section. The black bracket to the lower right is the right side frame bracket. Left side is already welded in place. The right side will need some major exhaust re-routing.
I have all four 3/4" heims, but two are still on the temporary coil bracket I made when the Fox Coilover broke in half. Just have to remove them since the broken CO has been re-built.
All brackets are made to utilize spacers at each side of the heim.
Need to get a few more tube adapters and of course the DOM tubing...hate to see what price their asking for that now.

[janderson4010]

yeah im building my links out of 2"x2"x.25" square to save cost, you can still use a 1.5" tube adapter with it, def doesn't look as good though

[rookieshooter]

Originally Posted by janderson4010

yeah im building my links out of 2"x2"x.25" square to save cost, you can still use a 1.5" tube adapter with it, def doesn't look as good though

Hey, what ever floats your boat
A little trick for added strength is to make the brackets in such a way that when the bolt passes through joint that it is directly 90 deg. to the link.
As you know a bolt is really not meant for lateral support as it is in clamping down. Plus the joint is in a more favorable position by not pushing to one side of the brackets, but dividing the load more or less equally to both sides.
You can see on both the large bracket and small that the double shears are turned for that very reason. Or another way of saying is that the flat sides of the bolting flanges run parallel with the links.

And about the price...That's why I went with sq. tubing on the rear armor.

[rookieshooter]

Update on the Explorer.
May have just found the cause behind the lack of low end torque/power until it gets up to speed. This is the clip that goes onto the throttle sensor.
It's off the sensor and I'm going to check to see if it's got close to 5 volts going to it. I just stuck some steel pins on the backside. Did it this way cause I need to check the volts also while it's connected to the sensor while pushing on gas peddle.
Now it had 4.97 volts going to the clip when measured between ground pin and power, close enough to 5 for me. So that part of the test is fine.



Now for the bad part. When checked with the sensor installed to the clip which automatically is in the idle position unless the throttle valve moves it, which it can't cause it's not hooked to it. The voltage is still 5, not good.
It's supposed to be 1.5 v and then progress to 5 as the throttle opens up.
So now what is happening is that the computer or what ever senses it thinks the throttle is wide open. No wonder it don't run right until it gets up to speed. Now just to wait for the part to come. Oh ya, reason the sensor looks so bad is, after I found out it was trash, I just had to take it apart ha ha. Neat the way it has those circuits imprinted on the inside.



Now for more pleasant things. When flexing on those Zapper ramps, I've always drivin up on the driver side like you see here. It's so much easier being that I can see the ramp when tire starts going up the ramp and getting close to end.



But I need to be able to drive up the pass. side without any one watching. Plus main reason is to check for trouble spots that might need to be addressed for the future mods to come.
Must admit, I used a cheat cheat. Had mirror on the other side and just watched the pass. tire as it got clost to end. Forget about feeling that bump stop when in low.





And here it's doing the Xed axle thing when viewed from the rear.
Also had to do this side just to make sure everything was fine like it was when doing the other side...No problems. Plus I need to document all this to see how the upcoming rear 4 link does in comparison. A lot of measurments were taken down including figuring out the new location of the muffler for the 4 link.



There's just something about how the sun shines off that Atlas ha ha. Do you think I positioned the mirror that way...Ya think



One day I might just jack the frame up the height you see there, take off tires,disconnect the shocks and cycle that axle Hmm.

[rookieshooter]

Going to increase the HP and torque to the rear wheels, better water crossings (no splashing of water, just turn off) increase the life of the tranny and much better temperatures when doing slow trail rides and rocks.
And if I get real lucky...better MPG.

Going to remove the conventional fan altogether. I have the two in the front but still have the HP robbing conventional fan. I got a hold of a Chevy Cavalier fan (free) and going to install on motor side like it was designed for.
I must admit that I have Electrofan phobia and was always worried about it not working while way back in the bush.
So what I did was to wire the front and back so they all can run at the same time/separate or if front or back breaks the other will still run.



I made the new fan brackets in such a way that there is room for a foam or rubber gasket between the fan housing and radiator.

This morning after removing the steel fan I fired the V8 up and watched the temp guage while parked. With just the two front fans on it never got above 170 while parked.

I have the other fan mounted and wired temporarily and now to go out and test it. If everything is fine I'll do some control wiring to get the fan or fans to operate with a T-stat control device. Plus be able to turn on manually.
It's like a virtual wind storm while sitting still with all 3 fans running. I feel heated air coming out of the scoop, window cowl and around fenders.
I'm sure I'll have to tweak a few things as far as their operational controls go.
But just to get rid of that rotating mass and drag on engine will be worth it.

So now off to do some riding.

[bats]

Very cool setup. No pun intended. I picked up one of those Geo Prism fans for the Explorer since we've had record breaking heat here and sitting in traffic trying to get to the beach is no bueno, especially for the A4LD.

[rookieshooter]

Thanks bats, I love the beach just got back a few weeks ago and can't wait to go back again. Really miss my Toyota LC with the surf rod holders and casting a line while standing on the beach at the Outer Banks.l



Now here's a fan set up that's out of the box ha ha. Two pushers and one puller. The one puller is directly center of the two pushers. This will help pull air in that dead spot. But knowing I've got some Fail Safe built in wth 3 fans is reassuring. Moves so much air I have to chock the front tire when sitting still...OK a little over the top. But the proof of just how good this set-up works speaks for it's self in my initial test ride.
Conditions are Hot. 20 mile round trip on side roads, city of Martinsburg and Interstate 81.




Just drove down some country roads from my house doing 35 and here I'm in Martinsurg doing 45 and all fans are since I left the house. Generally it would be around 180 but notice the water temp is now around 165. Top row third from left.
But check out that oil temp, a cool 180. The engine is dissipating a lot of heat also with all that air moving around it and I'm sure that helps.



Cruising North on I 81 around 2500 RPMs. Note the note to myself ha ha.



Now I'm turning off the Interstate. Check out that water temp. Oil which takes a little more time to heat up almost reached 210, not bad at all.
But check out that fantastic tranny temp. Far bottom left. The the C4/C5 tranny utilizes a pan with air ducts running through it and then the B&M Supper cooler which now has a fan in front and behind it.
I'm extremely pleased with all numbers I'm getting from all the work that went into it. And my friend Gene who donated the fans for this build.
Those numbers with temp approaching 100 on the highway don't lie.

Oh ya, one other thing, those freed up ponies did scoot me back into the seat a little further when those secondarys kicked in while getting up to speed on the Interstate. I think Sampson just got a little stronger. Kinda brought a smile to this guys face

But I know your going to ask..."how about some trail tests" Good Point.

One other point, a few miles on 81 I turned off all fans and the temps rose just a few degrees doing 65 mph and did in fact drop back down when fans were on. That was one part of the test I really wanted to see for myself. So that blows that myth about fans creating more heat when turned on at those speeds. Maybe at higher speeds, but 65 is my limit with this truck.

I also want to do the math and see just how much total fan surface area I have.

[ragajungle]

Rookie looking good! is that note on your dash board "Turn Fan" and over ride? or are you using a manual switch vs a controller?

[rookieshooter]

Thanks, as of now it's manual.
Did some slow trails this morning and those fans have to rank right up there with the best trail mod's that I've done. Never once did it see over 180, where as before it would have been over 200 degrees crawling/riding along.
Took these pics with my 5.0 mp Blackberry. Little large, but I want to check out the resolution.

I always wanted to try the below experiment but was unable to do with the mechanical fan.
Some may find this hard to believe, but on the 18 mile trip home doing a mix of 35 to 45 mph on back roads with some hills and stop signs I never even had the fans on. All the mods I did to the engine bay area seemed to pay off. It seems that this is enough speed to keep it around 170 deg. Nothing to do with the fans but just having so much air circulating around the engine and then up through hood scoop, window cowl, a 4 core aluminum radiator, relocated oil filter to take advantage of the ambient air temp, air through tranny pan, tubed headers and heat dissipating aluminum heads all add up to a cool running mill.
But crawling around on trails which some were very steep is a different story.

Need to put some steel mesh in front of those "accident waiting to happen" fans.

[rookieshooter]

Here's my first problem.
Is there any kind of paint spray I could use to paint over the blue on the seat covers? Red or Black would be fine. Naturally it would have to be plyable and not crack. Feels like some kind of vinyl material.






And here's my second problem.
Seems Chicks just love "Trucks in Black" Now I have them all the time asking me to take them off roading
Now get your eyes off her and try to remember my first question.

[MrQ]

...Sorry, um, what was the question?

[gmanpaint]

Vinyl dyes are all I can think of for the seats.

Waterproof seat covers made of neoprene are an option.

[rookieshooter]

Originally Posted by MrQ

...Sorry, um, what was the question?

What question? Um, Oh that's right, about the paint, thanks for reminding me.
And about the waterproof seat covers gmanpaint. They're just too expensive for me. They're almost as expensive as the seats themselves.
I'll check into the dyes.
And that price is just for one
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/JZP-100-100-01/

For a fleeting moment, I envisioned Black duct tape...but thanks to a short attention span I quickly forgot about it.
__________________

[broncobra22]

'lil Sampson just found his Delilah! What can I say? She shows remarkably good taste in trucks. Looking forward to the triangulated link rear build...already has great flex, but more is better when done correctly, why not?

[rookieshooter]

Originally Posted by broncobra22

'lil Sampson just found his Delilah! What can I say? She shows remarkably good taste in trucks. Looking forward to the triangulated link rear build...already has great flex, but more is better when done correctly, why not?

Whoa, I never gave that a thought

Even if it don't flex more it will be fun to do. If it would at least flex as much as it does now, but eliminate the track bar, then it will be worth it...now if it flexes a little more, well that's just extra grease on the heims.



Just putting some propaganda together about some of the mods for the largest truck show in the world...so they say.
Now instead of answering so many questions and forgetting to mention certain things, let their eyes do the reading. Now I can just roam around the grounds checking out the great rides.
These shows at Carlisle are just so big that I'm brain dead talking to all the people.
I've noticed on other shows that some of the guys that come around with their wifes or GFs go through the motion with their arms and hands demonstrating about how these trail trucks flex. Now just check out some of the pics.
Oh ya, on one of the posters I mentioned this great site and all the help it's been.
Thanks guys and of coarse come on over and say Hi if you're there.

[vroomzoomboom]

still bummed that i cant make it to both AFN and ATN. make sure you get some pics, and post them up.

[rookieshooter]

Some early ATN pics.

[vroomzoomboom]

ugh. why cant they have afn, and atn back to back within a week of each other........

[rookieshooter]

The guy in the below vids stole the show. Can see why it says Virgina state rock crawling champion more then once on the side of his transporter. Wish I had of caught him rolling the crawler. (a little birdie told me that he does it on purpose for the sport fans) Another time I wished I had it on vid was when he went up so fast that when he got to the top the truck shot straight up in the air the full length of the truck and landed straight up on the rear tires and then fell forward. Really got a round of applause from the fans sitting in the bleachers.
I talked to a few of them about improving my rig. In fact they were the ones doing the judging for the Trail class. The one that judged my truck suggested boxing in the coilover brackets top and bottom. Win or not, I came away with some more knowledge, and that alone made it worth it.
So there will be some trails done at Raush Creek in the future.
Guess I'll be heading back to Carlisle this morning in a few hours.

Rock crawling

Rock crawling

Rock crawling

Rock crawling

[rookieshooter]

Well folks, it seems that the Lil Sampson did it again, taking back to back First Place wins...This time taking First place in the Inaugural Trail/Extreme 4x4 class which was not just Ford like the one before, but who ever what ever wanted to get in.
If it never wins another award again, I'm pleased.
Got to admit it was fun slipping on the front fenders, hood and doors and driving this truck home, while most others trailered their rigs. Oh ya, having those gorgeous models standing on both side of me while accepting the trophy was, well a little hard to take, if you know what I mean.
It was just amazing all the people that came buy to share their stories about their rigs also. Had a ball.
But the fact that those hard core rock crawler guys did the judging was fantastic. The first thing they did was look under my truck, paint was never discussed, now geometry and build, was another story.
The fact that he told me "Your on the right direction " made me feel good.
Now the judging for the AFNs was by all the people that attended the show where as this time it was by specific judges. So it got it's mix of votes for both wins.
And the trophies, they're just the right size to fit under my high jack for support if need be ha ha.